As the Clock Strikes Twelve
by TopazRubyQueen
Summary: A story based on the song 'Cendrillon'. I basically took the general plot of the song and expanded it to include more of the Vocaloid characters and to have more depth. "So now, here she was, the ball gown clad assassin, come to kill the prince..."
1. Chapter 1

**Miku**

"For the greater good…" The words that Phantom had used were all Miku had to hold onto, to keep her from breaking her promise. "Was this a mission worth dying for?" she had wondered so many times. "Even if it makes me a hero?" The possibility of ending up dead after this was greater than she wanted to admit to herself. "I never asked to be a hero." It hadn't mattered the tiniest bit to Phantom, though.

"I'm starting a revolution, Miku, and you shall be its epicenter." Then he handed her the narrow, cloth-wrapped object. "Do you know what I want you to do?" he asked. Her eyes cast down, she gave a slight but affirmative nod. "Good," he replied. "And it must be done tonight. There aren't any second chances. Besides, you know that the magic of your persona will only last-"  
>"Until the clock sticks midnight," Miku said. "I know the spell."<p>

Slowly, she pulled the many layers of silky fabric away from the object he had handed her, revealing a small, shining dagger, which she held at arm's length, examining it for a moment, before wrapping it up again.

So now, here she was, the ball gown clad assassin, come to kill the prince, and start a revolution in the name of a greater good.

* * *

><p><strong>Luka <strong>**& ****Gakupo**

The carriage came to a halt and the driver climbed down from his seat to open the door. A tall man with long purple hair stepped out, accompanied by a woman with almost equally long hair, which was pink. They were speaking quietly to each other.

"What was Kaito thinking, having a ball at a time like this?" asked the woman. "It hardly seems right, seeing as the kingdom is in such a state."

"I know," agreed the man. "But we're here anyway, so we might as well enjoy ourselves. I hear there's going to be a foreign guest, a princess no less."

"Is that so? I hadn't heard. Not a relative of Lady Meiko's, is she?" She asked with a smile.

He laughed, "Not at all. I believe her name is Miku. I didn't catch where she was from though."

"I imagine her parents are some king and queen of a small country, hoping to get their daughter married to the prince," the woman suggested.

"Well, I wish them luck. Price Kaito certainly doesn't seem interested in getting married. Meiko's already tried that," the man added.

They had reached a pair of great wooden doors, and a guard appeared to escort them inside.

"Duke," said the guard, bowing his head politely, "Duchess." He led them inside to the main entry hall. "I will let the Prince know you have arrived," he said, then left the room. Kaito appeared a moment later.

"Gakupo, Luka, I'm glad you could come. How are things on the eastern border?" he asked.

"Well enough." Gakupo replied. He glanced over at Luka, to see if she had something to say, as she often did on this subject. She didn't try to hide the fact that she thought very little of the way things were run, although she didn't believe it was Kaito's fault. He'd been left with quite a mess after his father died. The villages were rarely calm, but so far were lucky enough to not have had any rebellions.

Kaito moved quickly to another subject, which just happened to be the foreign princess, "She ought to be arriving very soon," he said.

"Where is it that she's from?" Luka asked, hoping to get an answer to her and Gakupo's earlier conversation.

"Um," Kaito looked slightly uncomfortable at this, but brightened up as he said, "Ah, look, you can ask her yourself in a moment. A carriage just pulled up."

Gakupo and Luka turned around to see a girl with turquoise hair coming up the path. She had on a heavy looking pink gown with diamonds stitched into the fabric. Upon seeing Kaito, she looked away slightly. However, when she came close enough to speak with them, she looked directly in his eyes and said, "You must be the prince, Kaito. I've heard so much about you," she was smiling, but laced within her smile, and buried under the sweetness of her voice, was something else. Only none of them could see it, least of all Kaito, for he was immediately captivated by her. Just as had been the plan.

* * *

><p><strong>Miku<strong>

She followed Kaito and the two other guests into the ballroom. The music could be heard from halfway down the hallway. It sounded like a good time. She wished she was really here as a guest, as the foreign princess she was posing as. There wasn't any way she could enjoy herself, knowing what she would have to do. She realized that she was standing alone now. The other two guests she had been with had dispersed into the crowd and were speaking to a woman in a red dress. She couldn't see Kaito anywhere, so she helped herself to a tasty looking cake on the refreshments table. Just as she finished it, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned her head quickly to see who it was. Her bag fell from her shoulder with a heavy clatter. She attempted to bend down to retrieve it, but was restricted by her dress. Instead Kaito, who had been the one to tap her in the first place, returned it to her. He made no comment about its unusual weight or any inquiry as to its contents. She exhaled in relief as she slipped the purse back onto her arm. However, her plight was only just beginning.

"Miku," he said, smiling, "I'm sorry, I lost track of you when we were coming in. I meant to introduce you to some of the others here."

"Oh, it's fine," she replied, also smiling, "I was just sampling some of the pastries. They're quite delicious."

Kaito laughed. "I'm sure Rin and Len will be glad to hear it. They spent most of the week preparing for today. They're the main servants of the castle," he added.

"Well, pass along my compliments then," Miku said.

"I will," he replied, pausing for a moment before changing the subject by saying, "I suppose, seeing as this _is_ a ball, we ought to dance. Would you do me the honor?" He offered his arm to escort her. She started to take it, but remembered the dagger hanging there. The bag was small, so she quickly tucked it inside her dress. The clock was just chiming seven as they began to dance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Teto**

Pink hair bouncing as she walked, Teto had at last found her way into the castle. Not only that, but she had managed to slip past the guards without stirring up any suspicion. Now she was headed for the room where the castle's food supplies were stored, which were most likely underneath the kitchens. She was determined to get there, and to escape again unnoticed. To bring back food directly from the castle to her friends, Haku and Neru, would surely prove to them that she was deserving of their respect, which they seemed to had lost for her, ever since the 'incident', which she preferred not to talk about. Then again, they weren't precisely all that respectable themselves; Neru had very often been called lazy, which was typically true, because she never volunteered to do any work and much preferred to sleep all day. And then Haku, well, she had a clear drinking problem, and everybody knew. Teto had known the two of them for ages though, and when they had been little, they'd dreamed of setting the kingdom right, somehow. Now, that was needed more than ever. But who was going to do it? "Certainly not the three of us," she thought.

**Kaito**

Miku must have had a lot of practice at dancing. She never once stepped on his feet, or moved the wrong direction. Not to mention how beautiful she looked; the way her hair swirled was mesmerizing… Kaito breathed deeply trying to clear his mind. He needed to stay focused, to avoid the embarrassment of saying something silly because he wasn't thinking. She was unlike anyone else he knew, always having such an air of charm and a certain mystique. It was fragile though, like a mask made of glass, too much pressure and it might shatter; and what would be the consequence if it did? But still, to think just days ago he had been mooning over Lady Meiko! Those days were far gone, so long as this Princess Miku was around. Suddenly, he realized that she was speaking to him. A question.

"Do you enjoy being a prince, Kaito?" she asked.

What an interesting question. To be honest, he'd never really thought about it before. He supposed that he did. After all, the castle was comfortable and he knew there were always people around to support him whenever he needed it. And yet, there was also that unrelenting stress, the never ending pressure of responsibility. "No," he said.

What? No? Is that what he'd just answered? He hadn't meant to say it. What if she thought he was some kind of arrogant fool who couldn't be pleased no matter what the circumstances? Or maybe she'd just assume what he meant about the pressure and all that. But in the end, all she said was, "Is that so?"

"I… What I meant to say was, sometimes it can be a little demanding," he recovered himself quickly, thankful for the chance. But still, Miku had him right where she wanted him.

"I know what you mean," she responded. "I often think that I'm simply not good enough to deal with the problems of my kingdom. And when something goes wrong, all you can do is blame yourself for it all. Do you ever feel like that?"

"I suppose… Yes, occasionally," Kaito said. It was a true enough answer; he did think that perhaps he could have done a better job of ruling his troubled kingdom, but much of the damage had been his father's doing, not his own.

**Miku**

Miku's face was unreadable. She studied him for a moment and then said, "Would you mind if we stop dancing for a moment?" She needed to make sure they danced again later and didn't want it to drag on too long the first time. Plus, her shoes were killing her.

"Of course not," Kaito replied, leading her away from the dance floor. "Would you rather go outside? I can show you the garden if you'd like."

Miku smiled, "Yes, I'd like that." They went outside to the terrace garden; it was chilly and Miku had no coat or even a shawl to wrap around her. Kaito noticed this, and, finding it a perfect opportunity to look chivalrous, gave her his. They talked for a while, until the clock struck nine. "Just three more hours until I must kill him," Miku thought. She had assumed that it wouldn't be too difficult, that Kaito would be everything Phantom told her he was, and nothing more. Conceited, lazy, unconcerned with what was happening in the kingdom, but he wasn't quite just that. There was certainly more. She nearly felt she could be ashamed of killing him, far from heroic. However, with time running out, she needed to find a time to do it soon. The dagger weighed heavily in the elegant bag hanging from her shoulder, and, metaphorically, it was a burden she feared she couldn't bear to possess much longer.

**Meiko**

Meiko turned away from the party and looked out the window, at the night sky. Luka and Gakupo had just gone to get some refreshments and so she was on her own, for now. Normally, at a party like this, she would be dancing with the prince, like that Miku girl was now. "Just look at them over there, dancing away like they're in some fairytale! He's only just met her and yet it's so obvious that he's fallen for her, much more than he ever cared for me, I'm sure," she had said to Luka. "But who is she? He didn't seem to want to tell anyone where she was from, but made sure to mention she was a princess," Luka had then replied. Meiko agreed, "Maybe I ought to speak to her. But she never leaves the prince's side! It's so frustrating!" Then Gakupo intervened, "I heard some of the other guests say they thought she was some kind of sorceress, that she had bewitched the prince. What imagination they have," he laughed, "I don't understand why people can't seem to just believe that she's who she says she is, a princess who's meeting the prince." Luka had noticed Meiko's response to this, which was to further analyze Miku from a distance all the while glaring at her, because now she thought she had cheated her way into Kaito's heart, the place where she, Meiko, deserved to be. So Luka had pulled Gakupo away, saying to Meiko that they would go and get something to eat, then come back; however, her main goal was to get Gakupo away for a moment, to speak to him and ensure he wouldn't accidently say anything that could potentially set Meiko off completely. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. Since she knew it would look odd if she hung around wherever Miku and Kaito went, she would just have to get someone else to do it for her. Len and Rin, she decided, would be the perfect candidates, seeing as they were servants, and even better, there were two of them. She marched over to where they were standing, in front of the doorway to the kitchen, and proposed the idea to them, promising a reward as well. To her delight, they agreed to help. Meiko was now one step closer to clearing away the façade that stopped anyone from understanding Miku. However, before Meiko would be able to get much information from the twins, Miku could end up revealing her disguise, herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I thought this was going to be a lot shorter than the previous chapters, but somehow it ended up longer... Anyway, Rin and Len's perspective now. I tried to make their view more lighthearted but I'm not sure if I like the way it turned out. Well, please review and let me know what you thought!**

* * *

><p><strong>Rin and Len<strong>

"Mieko must like Kaito an awful lot in order to offer to _pay_ us to do this, don't you think?" Rin said.

"I don't know, Rin. Everyone's been acting a little strangely lately, if you ask me," Len replied. "I'm not sure if it's the princess, or maybe even Kaito himself, but it's definitely not normal around here."

Rin didn't say anything in response to this; however, a couple minutes later, she spotted Miku and Kaito coming in from the terrace. "Look, Len, there they are. Do you want to investigate first or shall I?"

"Go ahead," Len said. "I need to clear away these dishes still…"

"Alright. Wish me luck!" she headed off to the opposite side of the ballroom, near to where Miku and the prince were standing now. She pretended to be rearranging the plants in the window while she listened to them talk. Most of it, namely the bits from Kaito, was mushy-gushy sounding, and she didn't particularly care to stand around and listen. But parts of their conversation were still intriguing, and she needed to learn everything she could about Miku in order to report back to Lady Meiko. And of course, she couldn't deny she was somewhat curious herself.

As she moved over to the next window, which was slightly closer to the couple, a guard approached the two of them. "Kaito," he said, "There is a matter that we wish for you to attend to down in the cellars. A thievery."

Kaito turned to Miku, "I'll only be a moment," he said, as he left with the guard. But Miku had no intention of staying in the ballroom, it seemed. She headed off after them, staying out of sight. And so Rin had no choice but to follow her.

* * *

><p><strong>Miku<strong>

As the ball become more distant, the sounds, naturally, grew quieter. Miku realized, almost too late, that those glass slippers she'd been forced to wear were tapping rather nosily on the stone floors. She hurriedly took them off and placed them around a corner. Her dress was plenty long enough and so her shoeless-ness would go unnoticed. She could hear the conversation over the thief taking place nearby. Meanwhile, although she did not realize it, Rin was around the second corner and had resolved to stay where she was and listen.

"Please, I was only taking a loaf of French bread, nothing much."

"That's still stealing!" shouted the guard, "I want it all returned. Now!"

"Leon, you are not the ruler here. I will order the girl to return the bread she has taken, if I so choose." Kaito replied angrily, yet calmly. The girl looked up somewhat hopefully at this. As did Miku. That was, until she realized this could only make her feel more regret.

"What is your name?" Kaito asked.

"Teto."

"Is this bread for your family as well?"

"Not exactly… I don't have any family, but I was meaning to share this with a couple of my friends." Teto responded.

"Then take it. It should belong to the people anyway. In fact, take more than that, and not just bread. Take everything." Kaito said, absolutely changing Miku's mind. Teto's eyes widened. Leon made to say something, but caught himself just as he received a glare from Kaito. "Leon and the other guards will assist you in carrying whatever you take back to the village. Make sure it gets distributed to everyone, alright?" She nodded frantically, disbelieving of what he was saying. But all the same she took the baskets and barrels and boxes she was given and left the castle splendidly.

Having had her view of the prince altered tremendously, Miku mentally took a step back to examine it all. On the one hand, he ought to have done something like this sooner, not waited until it got to the point of theft before he gave food away. And therefore, she could justify her forthcoming actions. On the other hand, however, there was the much more agreeable, and yet more difficult, conclusion that he _could_ change, and had already, somewhat. A person who is willing to change, but doesn't seem to know how, is not one who must have their life ended, especially when they were making an effort.

"His life must be spared, and I must find a way to escape Phantom," she thought. "Besides, if I were to kill him, who would resolve to take the throne and become a leader to such a nation in need of revival?" Suddenly, she realized what must have been hidden in plain sight this entire time, and began to wonder if perhaps Kaito was not the only one with an enchantment cast upon him. That had been the scheme all along- _Phantom_ would take his place, and Miku was near certain that he had no intention of restoring the kingdom to its former glory. Thinking all this through, it became so clear. But now she heard the footsteps of Kaito, Leon, and Teto heading towards her. She figured, though, that it would be best to stay where she was and come up with some sappy cliché to tell Kaito, like she couldn't bear to be far from him, and so she came to see what was going on, which was exactly what she said.

* * *

><p><strong>Rin and Len<strong>

Len had come down the stairs to join Rin about halfway through this exchange. "You were right, Len, he certainly has changed," Rin said. "If it is to do with Miku, then I hope she stays for a while; she seems to be doing him good."

"I doubt Meiko will be pleased to hear that," Len answered, smiling.

Rin laughed slightly, "She'll get over it soon enough. I imagine the kingdom is going to make quite a change for the better now. With all that happening, there isn't any way she could stay sour for long."

"I hope you're right," he said. "Anyway, do you think we need to stay and listen more? You already have your theory that she's going to be around for a bit, so…"

"Not yet," Rin decided. "We'll follow them back to the ballroom when they leave."

"You're way to into this whole spying thing, you know, "Len told her. Rin only waved an annoyed hand at him to be quiet.

They stood and listened; Rin stifled a giggle upon hearing Miku's excuse, while Len just shook his head. Teto and Leon passed by, arms full of food, without noticing Rin or Len, who had hidden just in time.

"See, _now_ it's going to be interesting. There's no one else around. Well, so they think," Rin stated. "…You might be right about me though. Hey, I should apply to be a royal spy or something! And you can be my side-kick. We'll solve all sorts of crimes and be-"

"—captured by the enemy because _someone_ was talking so much she blew our position. That sounds about right," Len said with such an amount seriousness it made Rin laugh even harder. Eventually they refocused themselves, and listened.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The final chapter!~ Lots and lots of reviews, please! I'll might come back to this story later on and make some minor changes and such. In the mean time, I'll probably start working on another Vocaloid story, since I enjoyed this one so much! Any suggestions?**

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><p><strong>Miku<strong>

As she was speaking to Kaito, Miku felt a sudden jolt in her chest. Somehow she knew something was about to go terribly wrong. She was already gripping the dagger, even though she wasn't sure how it ended up in her hands, dreading what she knew was going to happen next. It seemed that Phantom had neglected to inform her about another part of the spell, the bit that came into play should she realize his true plan and decide not to comply. It was forcing her to relinquish all free will. Kaito was going to die tonight, right now, by her own hand.

The distant toll of the clock was coming too soon. One… Two… Tears rolled down her cheeks, as her mind replayed how she had come to this point. Three… Four… Images flooded her mind— her home, destroyed by the war between this country and her own. Five… Six… Phantom, although of the enemy kingdom, had seemed a friend to her. Seven… Eight… He, too, had wanted to stop the war, to fix his country, and in the process hers would be restored as well. Nine… Ten… He had told her of this spell, how she would be able to beguile the prince with extraordinary ease, and when the time came, she would be able to end all this, with one slash of a dagger. Eleven… Twelve… She collapsed to the ground, everything a whirl around her, the ball gown transforming and her hair seeming to tangle itself. All in the same motion, she thrust her arm out towards Kaito, closing her eyes as the dagger tip made contact with his skin.

**Kaito**

Seeing tears appearing in Miku's eyes, Kaito reached towards her hands, asking her what was wrong. She didn't seem to hear him. He then saw the object in her hand, the dagger, pointing towards him. And then she fell. At the same time, he felt an intense pain in his side, gasping instinctively, even though he had been able to see the dagger for a moment before it hit him. The spell was broken. A scent, acrid and harsh, overwhelmed him; it was gunpowder, gunpowder only to be found in that place, across his kingdom's borderline, the country he tried to avoid thinking about, where the ruined villages scattered the hillsides and some were so completely decimated you couldn't tell they'd ever been there.

"Miku…" he whispered. Her eyes flashed open, fear in them, as if she were expecting to see his ghost talking to her. She looked down at the blade on the floor, and said softly, "I missed." She lifted her eyes again, though they were still filled with sorrow. "I… can explain this."

Kaito held up a bloodstained, white-gloved hand. "I think I understand. You see, if you had truly intended to kill me, of your own decision, then you would not have 'missed', as you say. And if you changed your mind, then you could have stopped yourself. So you were forced?"

"You could say that," Miku replied, still trying to make sense of it all herself, when suddenly the two blonde-haired servants came tumbling around the corner.

**Rin and Len**

"Rin! Len!" Kaito said, surprised.

Len's eyes grew wide at the scene before him, and his sister shouted, "Prince!" and took off towards Kaito. "Meiko was right!" she said. "What have you done?" she sprang at Miku, but was stopped by Kaito.

"Rin, please, you need to calm down," he said. Len came forward as well, taking ahold of his sister. Miku started to speak again, shaky now, because she had been startled by the twins, "I- I- Well, you see, I… didn't want to. At first I did, I was determined, but, as time went on, I realized maybe he had been lying to me. I didn't want to try to kill you, but the spell-"Miku broke off, she looked away from the three others. "I don't know what happened."

"Don't worry. It's going to be alright. We can stop this person you speak of, together. And I know I'll be able to do something right for once," Kaito soothed her.

"But I can't. He'll find me. I-" she stopped again, unable to control her emotion any longer.

"Then we'll leave." Kaito decided.

Rin stared at him, then, turning suddenly cold towards him said, "I don't know if you realize it, sir, but you're meant to be ruling a kingdom at the moment."

"Rin…" Len said, giving her a 'what-do-you-think-you're-saying' look.

"No! Besides, wouldn't that just be perfect for whoever was threatening you, Miku? The crown is up for grabs, everyone, because the prince just decide to skip town on us all, without so much as even a 'you're on your own' or good-bye."

"That's true," Miku said. "Kaito, you can't just leave. Whatever happens to me, I'll know that I helped you and that the kingdom is better for it." She smiled. "I guess I started a revolution after all."

There was silence for a moment; even Rin had nothing to say. Then Kaito spoke up, still determined that Miku was not going to die for this, "I don't care. We're still going to leave. And when we've made it far enough away, Len, I want you to send word to Gakupo to take over for a little bit, and tell him I'll be in contact soon."

"I will," he replied. "Good-bye, Prince. I wish you luck." He bowed his head for a moment, and then Rin raised her tearful voice to say, "I can't believe you're going to go. I've known you all my life, been in this castle all through what happened when your father ruled, and-"

"Yeah, we've been friends for a long time, haven't we? But I'm going to come back, and it won't be long before I do." Kaito smiled at her and then Rin, having regained her composure, smiled as well.

**Miku**

They left, just as Kaito had said, going into the countryside, west, away from Miku's kingdom, where Phantom had first found her. She was still unsure of what would become of them, but she believed Kaito when he said he meant to return to the throne eventually. After all, Rin, who was almost as close to him as she was to Len, and thought of him as a brother, would be waiting. She had been so sweet, after she forgave Miku for what she had done.

Miku was wearing her peasant clothes again; the ball gown had disintegrated into ash soon after the spell broke and her crown had been left behind for when she returned. Her shoes also remained, as they had not been on her person when midnight came.

Kaito had found other clothes to wear as well, and his wound was bound up. It would heal, but surely leave a scar behind. He said he didn't mind much though.

With all of that behind them, Miku and Kaito set out to seek safety from Phantom, until he lowered his guard at least a little bit, and then Kaito said he would make sure Phantom was found, under any circumstances. They still had no idea who he truly was, since he never gave Miku any name besides 'Phantom', but there were certainly plenty of rumors, stories, and suspicions to entertain the minds of imaginative villagers.

Lastly, there was the final matter of whether Miku would be marrying the prince when they came back to the palace. Of course everyone, except possibly Meiko, who had not yet quite gotten over him but was making progress, according to Rin, would be jubilant to celebrate such a thing. However Miku continued to think that she couldn't just say yes like it was a fairytale ending. Although there were many amongst the townsfolk who agreed that it _did_ resemble something of that sort, just a bit. And, in the end, when all was well, she couldn't say she disagreed with them.


End file.
